


Primal

by orphan_account



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Animalistic, BAMF Alec Lightwood, BAMF Magnus Bane, Feral Behavior, M/M, Survival, Survival Horror, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-19 15:33:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17004342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The Zeta Virus breaks out across the world, infecting the brains of many living things in the worst possible way.  The virus devours the higher cognitive functioning of the host's brain, leaving it to revert back to a more primal state. This primal state has only one motivation: hunt and spread the viral strain.Warning: This will contain graphic descriptions of violence, gore, and extensive descriptions of the appearances of the zombies in this AU. There is a reason why this is tagged as 'survival horror'. The plot starts out lightly but it gets progressively darker as it goes on.





	1. Zero Day

The scent of fear saturated the air. Voiceless echoes and wordless screams of distress were flooding the air. The blood in his arteries howled with the certainty of a primal retribution lying in wait like an adder. Power thrums and growls beneath his pulsating skin as he gives chase to the quarry that has skittered around the corner of the block. He huffs like the infamous wolf of the old tales, the snarls accumulating behind his tongue. A fresh wave of fear-scent hits him topside as he whips around the corner and continues his mad chase. A glimpse of a human figure running frantically, a few hundred yards away.

His vision drowns in crimson.

And the next few seconds was a whirlwind.

A corner of his cheek is tainted with blood. Crimson ichor drips from his chin as strong canine fangs and incisors latch on to the skin protecting the jugular, an arterial spray soaring through the night. Vindictive delight makes him cackle like an overjoyed hyena at the flood of cries coming from the fallen gazelle, and he tears away at another patch of flesh. The gazelle twitches and keens. Crimson continues dripping from his chin as he slowly clamps his maw shut. The twitching gazelle eventually passes.

_Mate. Protect mate. Kill to protect._

His nose twitches when the night air brings with it a new scent. A pleased purr is building up deep within his chest and the tension between his shoulders recedes.

_Mate. Mate safe. Mate here._

"What...what have you done, Alexander?"

He rises to his full height and faces his _mate_ , his _Omega_. Stares and stares at the soulful brown of his _mate_ 's eyes. He flares his nostrils as the scent of his Omega floods his senses. His mate was safe. His mate was _safe_. The pain of his mate was gone. Gone was the wound from earlier. Gone was the scratch that the seraph blade drew on his mate's skin. They were _safe_. They were safe. Wide eyes regarded him as he slowly stepped closer to his _mate_. The scent was stronger and stronger. The _Alpha_ was rumbling with deep-seated contentment in his chest and he suddenly wants to take them both away to another den, far and far away from _Them_. His inner Alpha releases a satisfied grumble and leans in to scent along the column of his mate's neck.

A tension creeps into his mate and the Alpha picks up on it, the cunning reptile it was. He growls lowly and feels a prickle of discontent when his Omega tenses further at his advances. He withdraws from the safe warmth of his mate for a moment, before he leans in again, pressing his Alpha canines gently against the junction of his Omega's neck. He releases a calming grumble and continues to gently nip at the skin, his inner Alpha yearning for the acknowledgement of his mate. The apprehension in his mate hasn't disappeared and his Alpha growls in frustration. The Alpha freezes when gentle fingers lightly scratch the hair at his nape, inching upwards and making soothing motions that send pulses of pleasure through his body. He releases a pleased rumble that echoes out from his chest.

"Alexander. We need to get home."

He curls his lip and a guttural sound of disagreement floods the air. He is displeased with this. His mate must be somewhere else safe. Not here. Not this city. They must find a new den. Not that loft. Not the Institute. Not _home_. It was not home anymore. More of Them will come. The end was nigh. His mate cannot do this to him. Cannot press him to do what was not safe.

"You have not been yourself," Omega speaks in a low whisper, as if in deference to the Alpha. But the Alpha was perceptive, for he knew that his mate would be given anything he wanted. Except what he was about to ask for. Omega's warm hand touches his cheek, the one without the blood. "I understand you want me safe. But _home_ is the safest, darling. Where we will be safest. I don't need you protecting me all the time. I can take care of myself."

 _Mate not safe,_ Alpha wanted to say. He curls his lip and continues growling in a sibilant series of notes. Frustration wells up in his chest when he sees the defiant gleam in his Omega's eyes. He leans forward and gently snaps his teeth at his neck, burrowing his nose deeper into his mate's scent. _Not safe. We leave. We leave._

"We can't leave New York, love. We can't. Not now. But soon, Alexander. Soon," Omega speaks softly. "Soon. I promise. But we need to get you a cure first before this virus turns you into something you don't want to become."

A pulse of outrage floods his chest. He suddenly breaks free from Omega's embrace and draws himself to his full might. The Alpha curls his lip and releases a guttural vocalization that fully communicates his anger to the skies. His chest rumbles with anger and his fingers itch. Omega looks on calmly and his face turns into stone, regarding him with defiance and disrespect. He flares his nostrils and feels betrayal ripping through his chest. He releases another guttural growl, frustrated at his mate's defiance.

"We can't leave yet, Alexander. Come home with me or I will have to use my magic. Don't make me choose," Omega intones.

Virus? What virus? This was as he should have been. This 'virus' may have killed many, but it will not kill him.

 **"No. No. Leave. We leave. Home not safe. Omega leave with Alpha,"** he growls.

The scent of surprise fills the air.

**"Omega leave with Alpha."**

His mate widens his eyes and swallows, before the defiance returns in his eyes. "Omega not leave with Alpha," his mate slowly enunciated, as if he thought Alpha was slow-witted.

 **"Omega will leave with Alpha. City no longer safe. Alpha will find den,"** he growls back, taking a few steps closer.

The Alpha can sense the involuntary shudder that runs through his mate's lithe body. "Come with me. We can talk about this," he says softly.

"Magnus!"

The muscles in his neck twitch as the air is suddenly saturated with a foreign scent. The Alpha lunges forward and swaps positions with his mate, a baritone vocalization rumbling deep within his chest as he steps protectively in front of the Omega. His shoulders rippled with a ferocity that yearned to be set loose. The itching sensation invades his upper jaws and he growls weakly at the discomfort of the serrated fangs that were growing out of from the gum layers. The human before them seemed to be at ease with the entire situation, back straight and shoulders loose. His eyes flash to the bloodied tip of the seraph blade the human male was wielding, and the crimson haze in his eyes returns with a tidal roar.

A firm hand suddenly closes around his bicep, fingers curled and pressing in desperately. The scent of his mate suddenly floods his nose and he reels back, the grumbling wrath in his chest soaring. "This man is a friend, Alexander. He's your brother. He will not harm us. Please, darling. Come back to yourself."

_Den brother. Brother._

The human male slowly lowers his blade. After a few seconds , he slowly walks forward, wary but steady. The human refuses to break eye contact with the Alpha, and the crimson bloodlust slowly fades from his conscious mind. "You know me Alec. I know you do. I know a part of you remembers me. I don't know what that virus did to you, but we're gonna figure this out, alright? We're gonna get you back again. This virus will not kill you, do you understand? I won't let that happen."

What was this virus they kept on talking about? This 'virus' that made him stronger, faster, smarter, better? Whatever it was, they clearly knew something that he didn't. They might know more about _Them_. Them, the ones that went insane and started grabbing and biting anyone that came near them. A distant murky memory suddenly floats to his attention, a memory of pain and fevered dreams. But within those fevered dreams was a paarticular scent, the scent of his mate. His mate, who looked after his Alpha while he was sick. But why did he get sick? Why did the Alpha get sick? In those memories, he remembered the salty tang of tears and the agonizing spike of desperation. The burning in his lower right side. Was the Alpha one of them? But then, how could that be? If he was bitten, how come he didn't become one of _Them_? Why was he able to think clearly? Why was he able to endure so much physical strain and injury?

His fangs retracted back to his jaws as he tilts his head in shrewd contemplation. The human male is only a few yards before him, his posture relaxing as if he thought the Alpha was placated somehow. His lip curled and twitched in amusement. Why, did they think he was a simpleton? For all of the Alpha's bearish growls and physical prowess, he was anything but a mindless brute. From how they were speaking to the Alpha, it seems easy to suddenly conclude that they didn't know much about this Virus. Whatever it was, they thought he was the link to _Them_ , the one link that might explain why those Insanes were behaving the way they were. They thought this Virus made mindless beasts of everyone it affected.

Clearly not then.

"Good, that's good, Alec. You know me," he raises a hand and pats his chest, before he pats it once again and extends his open palm towards the Alpha. "I know you. We are brothers. We know each other. So, if you want Magnus to be safer, come with us and we will figure it out as a family. As you probably know, there are zombies now. I know, sounds ridiculous but that's the reality now. There are bad people, Alec. Very, very bad people that will start running after us as soon as they see us three. They want to bite us and kill us. They want to spread this virus as far as they can. So, we gotta go before those Runners find us. Okay? Got it?"

He can't trust them. But for now, if he can find a place for a while where his mate will be safe until he finds another patch of territory outside human territories, he will reluctantly retreat and accept this outcome for now. But he won't be staying here forever. They will need to hunt soon.

"We have to go _now_ , Alpha. Please. There is another horde coming around the corner. We can't afford to stay any longer," Omega whispers to his ear. "I can make a portal back home. You'll need to trust me, love. Please."

What if their neighbors were Insanes?

His ear twitches and he puckers his nose in displeasure, before emitting a reluctant growl of acceptance.

"Thank you, Alpha," Omega whispers back, before turning away from him and retreating further back to carry out his task.

A frown appears on the human's face. "Alpha? Did you just refer to Alec as 'Alpha'?"

"We don't know much about this virus yet, Jace, never mind how it changes the brain of the infected," Omega explains. The sudden changes in their surroundings raises his hackles and he cannot help the involuntary rumble of agitation that escapes him. "But so far, you and I have seen it. Whatever it is, it seems to revert the infected back to a primal state of functioning. Possibly heightened senses, enhanced endurance and stamina. The like."

A warm brush of fingers runs along his arm. "We're going home, Alexander. Let's go."

Where the Omega goes, he follows. Always.

* * *

He sits on the couch, legs crossed, and eyes fixed on his Omega as he moves about their den with an endearingly energetic flare to his movements. Sparks of sapphire flowed from his elegant fingers as he closely follows the intricate patterns of gesticulations. His ears twitched and he huffs in irritation when dull thuds of footsteps echoed from the other closed rooms in their den. He returns his attention to the intricate dance of movements that his mate makes across the living space, incoherent mutterings reaching his ears. With the decisive snap of his fingers, a gentle pulse fills their den. His fangs itched and longed to be out of their protective gum sheaths, his hackles bristling and muscles twitching with restrained energy. A sigh breaks him from his inner thoughts and he cranes his neck again to observe his Omega's movements. His mate grunts and takes a seat beside him, their shoulders brushing against each other.

His mate turns to him, a foreign expression distorting his face. The corners of his mouth were quirked upwards in an eerily human gesture. Was that happiness? Happy?

"We're going to be fine," his mate says softly, reaching out with one hand to enclose it in his. Elegant fingers started tracing a rhythmic pattern on his palm and going down to his wrist. "We'll be fine."

An instinct of old suddenly bursts forth from within. The Alpha cranes his neck and leans in to press his nose against his mate's cheek, his fangs slowly clawing outwards from their gum sheath and crawling past his upper lip. A flood of warmth saturates his chest and a baritone purr of contentment echoes throughout their den. He flares his nose and drinks in the intoxicating scent of his mate. The pleased rumbling in the Alpha's chest gets louder as he gently noses along the column of his neck. A shudder runs through his mate's body and the Alpha releases a gentle growl of pride. An overwhelming burst of affections floods his senses and he playfully nips at his mate's neck, pressing the serrated edge of his Alpha fangs against the skin.

"Alpha," Omega says in a strained tone. A pulse of gold flashes in his vision and the rumbling purr in his chest stopped when a new scent spikes the air. The Alpha withdraws and lifts his head to gaze down at his mate, eyes nearly black from pleasure. Omega raises a hand and rests it against his cheek. A curious glint creeps into his mate's eyes.

"Your [eyes](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/jurassicpark/images/7/7e/Indominus_Rex_%28107%29.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160528014546) are...the color of blood. Blood-amber, to be precise," he says softly. "They are no longer hazel."

His mate continues to assess him, observe him. A speck of gold flickers in his mate's eyes. "I'm sorry this happened to you," Omega says softly. "I'm sorry, Alexander."

A displeased growl erupts from his chest. His Omega flinched at the sudden sound and he leans in fiercely, eyes unblinking as their foreheads touched. His nose puckered when the air of vulnerability suddenly surrounds his mate. That speck of gold in his mate's eyes suddenly floods his entire gaze. Golden eyes, the eyes of royalty. The eyes of the worthy and loved.

 **"I'm not. I'm not sorry. Strong. Stronger than before. Not Omega's fault. Never. Never Omega's fault,"** he growls. **"Alpha love Omega. Omega love Alpha. Nothing change. Nothing will change. Alpha love Omega."**

Gold disappears. A sad, pained human smile haunts his mate's face, and the Alpha does not like it. "I love you too, Alexander."

 **"Alpha will always love Omega,"** he whispers back.


	2. Adaptation (I)

Over the course of the next three days, the odd sense of irritability and restlessness has all but faded away from the Alpha's system. The haze of crimson that came from the savage bloodlust that ended the rogue Shadowhunter's life has died down to a manageable level. Thoughts and images were starting to flow faster between dendrites and axons and the linguistic components of his brain have started to thaw out from their temporary hibernation. A deep instinctive part of him, the one part that remained semi-human in the face of his violent evolution, found it easier to keep track of the volume of information being exchanged by the humans in sharing his mate's den. His sensitive nose puckered and huffed every time their mammalian scent wafted through the air, but for most of the time, they seemed to respect his space and steered clear of his mate's bedding and gathering area.

These 'Shadowhunters', whoever they were, were surprisingly efficient at clearing out their floor of the Insanes that were barricaded in their own dens. Their corpses were methodically disposed off and the stench of the carrion was pleasantly absent in his midst. Another thing that surprised him was their resiliency and physical prowess. They were adept at using their daggers and blades, and he found himself developing a pragmatic curiosity at the power held by the dark markings etched on their skins. These humans seemed to know the most effective use of their energy and they moved like a human hunter would. With the exception of the young man with the pale skin and diminutive fangs, this pack of humans seem to be capable of holding their own. As long as they stayed away most of the time, he doesn't care.

He keeps his attention fixed on his mate, who was still busy sitting on the table working away with his business, tomes and esoteric materials scattered about. He flicks his gaze to the clock on the wall, taking note of the time, before he returns his attention back. His ear twitches and a low grumble of irritation starts building up when the voices outside start entering his mate's den.

"Is he alright or something?" the young man, Simon, regards him with wide eyes. "He hasn't growled or flashed his teeth in the last three days."

"Would you prefer that he did?" a young human female snarked. "Teeth or not, he's still my big brother."

"Really, Izzy? That doesn't help," Simon snaps back, wheezing as if he was running out of breath. "I mean, does he even understand us? Does he even remember us?"

"I don't know, Simon. I don't know. But we can't know for sure. Look, I don't want to think about what happened to him right now, alright? Alec has always found a way. He will come back to us. Magnus is working on it."

"It's just...he always manages the impossible. I wonder how he'll do that," Simon finishes with a whisper.

He releases an involuntary rumble of irritation and shakes his head viciously, which caught the attention of his mate. Deep-set maroon eyes observe him, the scrutiny having a sharp edge to it. The hidden fangs in his jaws twitched with pride and he returns his mate's gaze with his own. Another thing that the Alpha learned about his Omega was that his mate was not like these 'Shadowhunters'. He looks like a human, sounds like a human, but he knows that he is _not_. The Alpha learned that the humans were the weakest of the pecking order, and yet, it was puzzling how they all possessed human physical traits. The Alpha knows that he is not a human. He was an _Other_. Not human. No longer 'Shadowhunter'. But then, not like his mate either.

A displeased rumble escapes his chest. What kind was Omega? Is Omega the last of his kind? Did he still have his kind wandering in different packs? Where were they? Is he alone, just like the Alpha? The Alpha didn't care one wit if he was the ladt of his kind, but maybe the same cannot be said of Omega. Omega might face the risk of being lonely, if he was the last of his kind.

The Alpha blinked slowly when his mate's warm hand lands on his cheek. A pulse of warmth floods his chest and his fingers itched to pull his mate down and keep him close by his side. Omega steps closer to his presence and gently runs his hand down, past his neck to rest at the junction on his shoulder. Specks of gold start crowding the maroon sea in his eyes. A wave of pride washes over him as he marvels at the unique adaptation of his mate. A smile, a human expression of happiness, breaks out across Omega's face. But this time, it seemed less obvious and softer at the edges. Who was his mate that he still remained remarkably human in his expression of emotion?

"They are beautiful," his mate whispers. "Your eyes. It's like looking back through the past."

A creature from the murky depths of his memories stirs to life and surfaces. A mixture of scents and lights invades his consciousness and draws him in. A hurricane of pleasure, devotion, passion, _love_ \-- it saturates his present moment and engulfs his attention. The same scent in the memory, was the very same scent surrounding him now. He feels the faint echoes of phantom marks that were left all across their bodies, the intoxicating scent of his mate, the union of their essences, the surrender of both souls to one another. The same flashes of golden eyes were embedded at the core of the memory. The eyes of a feline, he remembered, stared back at him. Seared forever in the very neurons of his being. They already knew each other, even before he turned into whatever he now was. But what he will never forget, not in a hundred lifetimes, was the sense of the _rightness_ of being with his mate.

 **"T'hy'la,"** he says reverently.

His mate closes his eyes, his breath escaping in an unsteady stream. " _Aku cintu damu._ "


	3. Adaptation (II)

The warmth originating from the light rays of the distant solar star filtered through their den, stirring the lone Alpha from the peaceful depths of a rested night. A frigid burst of air whispers into their living space and the skin along his spine tingled and twitched, hackles bristling. He extends his senses and allows them to fill the space around them, scanning their environment for anything potentially hostile. The human part of him, the part that still remained stubbornly unchanged, marveled at the ease by which he used this newfound ability, as if it was an instinct of old that has suddenly resurfaced after generations of lying dormant. His watchful state has revealed that nothing was out of the ordinary, and so he slowly eased himself back to the present moment, the range of his senses dying down to a smaller radius.

He cranes his neck from the closed door and returns his attention to the sleeping form of his mate, curled comfortably beneath the layers of sheets that have bundled around him overnight. A twitch of amusement makes him huff quietly to himself. Omega seems to be a creature of comfort when he lets his guard down, and it seems that habit likes to follow him even into the deep depths of sleep. He leans closer and sniffs, emitting a series of deep, soft rumbling sounds as he lazily nuzzles at his mate’s shoulder. He winces a little when the curved edge of his fangs prick the skin of his lower jaws. The shape beneath him stirs and moves about before stilling once more, murmurs muffled by the sheets. An undignified snort escapes him and the Alpha leans down again bites at the sheets, long serrated fangs catching his mate’s shoulder in a playful graze. The stirring beneath him gets violent and a whirlwind of movement explodes to life, pinning him on his back. The rumbling sounds in his chest morphs into a low growl as he uses his mate’s momentum to wrestle him around and pin him against their bedding. Surprised delight lurks beneath those golden eyes and a human smile slowly breaks out over his face. Omega reaches out runs his hands over his back, nimble fingers running down the length of his spine. The Alpha slows his breathing to a glacial pace, and he observes in fascination as a puzzled expression develops on his mate’s face.

“Something is growing on your spine,” Omega speaks quietly, an endearing scowl twisting his expression. His mate shifts beneath him and runs his fingers over his spine again. “Small, but it’s there. It feels sharp. Feels like bone.”

Omega retreats from his earlier inspection, turning his attention to the Alpha’s protruded fangs. “And the fangs. They look just a bit longer than yesterday. It’s…almost reaching your chin,” his thumb gently traces the sloped curve of his left fang, before gently pressing the pad of his thumb against the curved edge.

Warmth runs down his spine when his mate looks up at him again. “Did you sleep well, darling?”

He did, but even as he tried to scramble for something to say, the linguistic department of his reptilian brain seems have to taken the choice of hibernating for the time being. Even with his zealous prompting, his neurons won’t fire and his tongue felt as heavy as lead. He huffs angrily and the thick muscles in his neck jutted out as he opened his jaws in a desperate bid to say something coherent. He releases another agitated puff of air and clamps his jaws after his second attempt failed. He growls and shakes his head viciously, feeling the stab of humiliation spreading through his gut.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright,” he centers himself in the present moment again as warm, human hands reach out to cradle the sides of his face. He feels something settle along his back and his agitated breathing dies down, his entire being instinctively tuned to the crooning noises that his mate produced. His ear twitches when a puff of warm breath whispers against it. “It’s alright. It’s alright that you can’t talk right now. I understand. I understand, because it will take time. We’ll take it one day at a time, darling. One day at a time.”

The Alpha nuzzles closer to his mate and settles down on the space beside him with a heavy thud. For a long while, they stayed together while this, chipping away lazily at the early hours of the dawn. When he succumbs to sleep the second time, he dreams of golden eyes and a small human-like female with gill flaps on the sides of her neck.

* * *

The presence of rotting stench flooding their den stirs him violently from the peaceful depths of his dream world. Like an immediate instinct of old, a guttural growl suddenly breaks out from the depths of his chest and the fangs of his new nature slipped out of their sheaths, his lips curled and his hackles bristling. Discomfort pricks his gut as he feels something twisting and growing out off his back, the sensation radiating down the length of his spinal column. Dull thuds of movement echoed just beyond the locked entrance of their den, the echoes getting steadily louder as they approached their den. The Alpha lunges into action and positions himself in front of his mate’s vulnerable form, who was now suddenly awakened by the violence of his movement. The growls building up at the back of his throat suddenly die down to a tactical silence as the rest of his being comes to complete stillness, a viper poised to land the first offensive strike. His ears pricked as he picked up on the elevated breathing of his mate behind him, the sound of his frantic heartbeat a strong presence in the background of his senses. The Alpha steadies his breathing and lets his pulse settle into a glacial pace.

The dull thuds of movement from beyond the door has ceased. A high pitched noise suddenly fills the silence of their den.

Something was scratching against the door. It was a methodical path that the sound took, as if the creature was curious to see if anything was hiding beyond that point.

His mate quietly stirred and extracted himself from the sheets, footsteps muffled through years of experience in being unseen when he didn’t want to be seen. The Alpha hunches his back slowly retreats in the direction of his mate’s standing figure. He crawls to the end of their bedding and hunches his broad shoulders, his entire body crouched like a tiger lying in wait. His ears pricked when he picks up on the sudden shift in his mate’s breathing pattern, belying his fear of their survival.

The bloodlust that has remained dormant since he last hunted has suddenly emerged like a vengeful serpent, the crimson haze flooding his vision as his ears pick up on the vital orthostatic signs of the other survivors in their area. Fear saturated the air and he suddenly finds himself able to take stock of their current situation. His mate’s human pack was entirely absent from the radius of his senses, scattered and herded off by the Insanes that have suddenly invaded their territory.

The scratching behind the door, stops.

The door  _breaks_.

Shatters into a billion shards.

A high-pitched shrill echoes everywhere.

Fury courses through his veins. In a whirlwind of motion, he lunges from his crouched position on their bedding and overpowers the high-pitched shrill call of the abomination with his own guttural bellows. His outstretched fingers dig into the rotten skin of the Insane and they wrestle on the ground as the Alpha uses the advantage of heavier frame to pin his quarry beneath his bloodied fingers. His eyes meet the deranged grey-black irises of the Biter. Snarls and spit flew through the air as they fought for dominance. At every opportune moment that arises, the Biter lunged and attempted to score a pound of flesh from him. A pulse of hatred suddenly fills his chest and the haze of the bloodlust overpowers him. The Alpha lunges for the exposed throat of the Biter and he  _pulls_  as soon as he bites down on the weak flesh. A violent arterial spray lands on his face and he lunges down again, trapping the meat of the neck between his jaws. He pulls back violently again and dark ichor drips down his chin, the neck effectively dismembered from the body. A frigid silence washes over their den as the Biter’s body twitches and jerks like a fish out of water. The Biter’s torso twitches once more before it surrenders to the permanent stillness of biological death. The Alpha retracts his jaws and the dismembered head falls to the floor, rolling to a stop a few arm-lengths away from the Biter’s mangled body.

Movement behind him has him whirling around at the source of the sound. The crimson haze of adrenaline returns and bathes his world in a flood of scent trails and heartbeats. When he failed to pick up on the trademark scent of the Insanes, his entire being freezes and he withdraws into a strategic silence, taking in the new group of scents that have invaded his territory. His eyes land on the towering figure of dark man, broad-shouldered and looking at him as if he was a wild beast. A spark of recognition ignites in the depths of the man’s eyes and his hostile posture relaxes. The man steps through his domain and a warning rumble suddenly escapes his chest, his lips pulled back to reveal the full extent of his bloodied teeth. The man suddenly stops and stares at him, his expression stone-cold and impassive. But it was the man’s eyes, the glinting intelligence in them, that the Alpha takes notice. The eyes of an Other, a non-human, like him. He feels something shifting along his spine and he fights down the prick of discomfort that assaults his gut when the protrusions along his back suddenly grow longer. The raucous growling in his chest stops when his mate loses that fear scent hanging around him. The non-human before him keeps eye contact with him, still not moving.

As if he was non-verbally asking for permission.

“It’s alright, Luke. Come in. Forgive the hostile reception,” Omega says apologetically, a slight hoarseness infecting his sentences. “As you can see, we had somewhat of a rude awakening.”

The Alpha keeps his eyes on the non-human before him.

“It’s alright. I’m just glad that both of you are fine,” Luke, it seems to be the non-human’s name, replies back to his mate, eyes fixed on him in an unblinking manner. The Alpha sniffs the air around them and was mildly surprised to find that there was no trace of fear infecting their surroundings. He wondered if this non-human was an Alpha of his own right, just like him. “What happened to Alec, Magnus? It looks like he was infected too. But it doesn’t seem like he’s…turning into whatever these guys are.”

He curls his lip and growls at the accusation.

His mate exhales heavily. “Yeah. He was bitten…two weeks ago. On a patrol by himself when something just came out of nowhere,” a bitter snort escapes and the Alpha breaks his gaze, craning his neck to observe his mate. A pang of pain floods his chest when he takes note of the weariness around his mate’s shoulders. “It took him by surprise. He was brought here by Jace and Izzy when they found him in an alley. It took him a week and a half to recover. By the time he got here, there were already cases of the first infected breaking out across New York.”

“Rumors were flying around in the NYPD, saying this virus was some kind of a top-secret government research project on creating the first enhanced human. The rumors of a top-secret project started months back, but it was hard, even for me, to trace them and put the pieces together,” Luke says, his brows knitted in sadness. “By the time I did, it was too late. I only wished I did earlier, if it was just to warn you all.”

“It was not your fault, Luke. Nobody could have expected this. Should’ve expected, rather,” his mate replies softly. “It was no one’s fault but the ones who were amoral enough to think they could benefit from this kind of scientific inquiry. They prioritized profit over the lives of humanity.”

“Still, I’m sorry,” the non-human shakes his head. “All of this could’ve been avoided.”

His mate shakes his head viciously, as if he was trying to regain his composure. “We can talk about this later. Right now, we need to leave. I thought we would be safer here for just a while longer, but if those things managed to get past my wards somehow, then we’re no longer safe here. We need a plan to leave the city, Luke. Have you seen Jace, Isabelle and Simon? I can only assume they were out to scavenge for supplies when those things came and drove them out.”

“I didn’t see them,” Luke shakes his head. “But their scents were still around the building by the time I got here to check on you guys. A few hours old, give or take. It looks like a small group of those Stalkers were tracking them for a long time and decided to ambush them. I think they managed to outrun them, but the stench of it all doesn’t leave me with a reliable track to follow. I’m sorry, Magnus, but in the meantime, I can take both of you to where my pack is holed up. The both of you will be safe there. I’ll take a few of my pack members and form a search party. We’re all in this now. We can’t afford to stay apart from a group. We’ll find them.”

The Alpha snorts and his mate blinks in confusion, before turning to look in his direction. He snorts again and jerks his head towards the non-human male, his lip curled. The frown on his face becomes more pronounced, before a contemplative glint ignites behind his eyes. The Alpha snorts again and Omega’s brows shoot up to his hairline, as if in realization. The non-human observes their non-verbal exchange with a fierce interest.

_I can smell them. I can track them. My senses are stronger than this Alpha’s. I can track down your human pack for you. You will never be alone anymore._

“What’s he saying, Magnus?”

“He’s saying that he can track them down,” Omega replies, eyes not leaving.

“Really? How come?”

A shiver runs through him, and it suddenly felt like the last part of his brain that was still in a state of hibernation, has erupted into a state of full energy and lucidity. The fog wrapped around his brain suddenly recedes and he can  _feel_  his neurons coming online, the electrical circuits waking up from a state of temporary inactivity. Information jumps around from axon to dendrite and the fluidness of his thoughts extends everywhere, uniting elegantly with his current instincts.

 **"I can track them. I can smell them. I can track the scent of any creature on this city, to any place on this Earth,"**  The Alpha speaks and his voice was of a bearish vocalization, rough like the rocks of the earth. A thrill of pride floods his chest when the air around them is suddenly saturated with surprise and astonishment from both parties.  **"I can track them faster than you or anyone else can."**

“Alexander?” came the soft gasp of surprise.

Warmth fills his heart when he cranes his neck and stares unabashedly at his Omega. His mate swallows thickly and a vulnerable glint enters his gaze as he steps closer to the Alpha. His non-human Omega, regarding him with something like fragile hope. His mate, who has lost so many to death, and who has lost so many more through time. His mate, who gives himself freely to the ones he loves while expecting little to nothing in return. His Omega, a title chosen instinctively by his newfound nature, who deserves to be treated like the royalty that he was. His mate will never want for anything else in his life, not if the Alpha can help it. He feels a thrum of sudden respect for the other non-human that discreetly withdraws from their den, as if realizing this was a private moment that he should not be privy to.

A warm hand slides across his cheek. A vulnerable sheen coats his mate’s eyes, as if he was close to coming undone by the weight he carries in his heart. “You’ve come back to me,” he whispers hoarsely.

Affection wells up in his chest and he leans down to brush his nose against his mate’s cheek, a soft purr rumbling in his chest. A wet track of tears starts running down his bare chest and silent sobs wrack his mate’s lithe frame. He pulls his mate closer to him and starts nuzzling along the column of his neck.

 **"T’hy’la,"**  he whispers into his mate’s ear.  **"I will never leave you. Not in a hundred lives."**


	4. Adaptation (III)

The stench of the dead abominations swamped the entire corridor of the Brooklyn flat, their obsidian entrails and rotten ichor splattered across the once pristine walls. His nerves were still shot and on a constant state of high alertness ever since one of the Biters made their attempt on his mate's survival. The bone protrusions along his back have stopped growing, the skin around the edges hardening into a callous clump of scars. He doesn't know if they are retractable, much like his sabretooth-like fangs. For now though, a part of him was still satisfied for the time being, knowing that he had just earned another set of biological adaptations that would help him aid in their survival. In the last hour since his new adaptation appeared, he noticed that he has been hunching inwards to himself, as if his spinal column was readjusting where he distributed his center of mass. He also noticed the increasing thickness of his shoulders and his quadriceps, and along with the increase in stamina and physical endurance, it was eerie for him to see how his skin seemed to develop this strange sense of hardness to sharp surfaces and objects.

He grunted as a spark of dull pain ignited in his lower back. He stops and turns to brush his hand against the agitated area, wincing when his muscles screamed in protest. When the other male and his mate have sensed that he wasn't following, they turn their heads back in eerie unison and a pulse of concern wades through the air. He winces again when the thickness of their emotions saturates the air around them. When it feels like his head was about to shortcircuit because of the sensory overload, his inner Alpha twitches to life and registers the soothing touch of his mate's hands running over his cheeks and the sides of his neck. His mate's thumb rests gently at his pulse points, rubbing circular patterns over it as he tries to control his erratic breathing. Incoherent sounds flood his ears and he lets himself swim in it. He flinches in surprise when he realizes that both of them have sunk to the ground, his hands barely finding stability on the floor, his mate kneeling before him and the other non-human male hovering beside them in a protective stance.

"Darling, tell me what's wrong," Omega whispers as he tries to make eye contact with him. Even as he feels like sinking into a detached state, his bodies obeys and he grounds himself desperately into the concern and worry flooding his mate's eyes. "Tell me what's wrong."

"His physiology is still adapting to the virus," the non-human male beside him cuts in.

The sudden eruption of a voice near his personal space awakens a surge of agitation and violence within him that spills out across his surroundings. Without a trace of rationality, his entire being stiffens and he tears his face away from his mate's loving hold, jaws opening to snap at the non-human standing too close to them. The newly awakened part of his brain, the one that responds to logic and rationality, is aghast as he loses himself further into the zone of primal urges and territoriality. His mate's friend swiftly steps back and raises his hands in a placating manner, eyes wide and fixed on him.

" _Alpha_!" his mate growled near his ear, a strong hand wrapped firmly around the back of his neck.

The Alpha stiffens and settles into a precarious state of stillness.

"You need to control yourself, Alpha," Omega growls, but even in the ferocity by which his mate whispered those words, it didn't fully hide the undercurrent of desperation and vulnerability in his voice. "Luke is the only one that can help us get out of the city and find _your_ family. I _need_ you calm and stable," his voice cracked. "I _need_ to know that I can trust you to control yourself. I know it's been hard. I know it's hard trying to adapt and grapple with the new way of this world. But I can't lose you again, Alexander. I _can't_. I wish I could help you. But I can't do that until you _learn to control yourself_. You need to learn to subjugate these primal leanings that comes with your new nature. I _need_ you. Please, learn to control it. Don't let it control you."

_Control it. Control it._

The tension in his shoulders loosen, and his mate sighs shakily in relief. He withdraws and nuzzles into his mate's chest. A lump forms at the back of his throat and he wheezes out a small, high-pitched sound. His shoulders were shaking and he shivers in dread as the magnitude of his own actions have finally settled in. He unwillingly emits that sound again, the small and sad sound of a confused creature left to fend for itself.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you," his mate says hoarsely. "I'm sorry, Alexander."

"Alec, you're gonna be fine, alright?" the non-human steps forward warily, hands still raised. "Okay, here's what we're all gonna do. I'll lead you to where my pack is, and the both of you will stay there until we figure out a plan. If Alec still wants to track them, then we'll do that. But right now, let's focus on prioritizing our safety before we find the others."

"Can't we just create a portal and get there faster? He isn't in any condition to run or walk."

"Look, just follow me --"

The Alpha's breath stutters and dies in his lungs when the stench of an Insane suddenly saturates the air. The stench reeked of malevolence and brutal intent, different from the one that came from the Biter that he killed. This stench, this scent, was different. It belonged to a creature that derived great delight in toying with its prey and hunting for sport. This abomination was on an entirely different level of danger, and for the first time since he woke up to this world, he felt a pulse of fear and hatred so strong that it nearly swept him away. The scent was getting thicker, which meant that it was rapidly closing in to where they were.

"Alexander? What's wrong?" Omega whispers into his ear, so soft that not even his friend could hear. "Alpha, tell me what's wrong."

The air _moved_.

He tore himself free and tackled his mate to the floor, shielding him from the strike that narrowly missed his head. His mate grunted in surprise as he fell to the floor, and the Alpha took advantage of this by placing his outstretched fingers to the space above his mate's head, using his stature to protect his Omega from the stealth attack that took them by surprise. With his line of sight cleared, he could now clearly see the new breed of Insane that has appeared around the corner of the corridor, figure hunched and staring at them with predatory interest.

Grey-black irises glinting with a cunning type of intelligence, lower mandibles broken cleanly in the middle and gaping, a hideous rotten tongue twirling like a snake tasting the air. Its rotten flash does little to hide the grotesque state of its decaying body, patches of flesh and black ichor dripping out of the holes in its face. Bony protrusions from its ribcage twitched and moved, its organs and entrails bare for all to see. Its bony fingers twitch and it rears back its head, releasing a deafening screech that shakes the floor. Ichor and spittle flies out of its maw as it hunches its spine and _charges_ at them.

 _The[Stalker](http://www.heypoorplayer.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/volatile.jpg)_.

The Alpha charges forward to meet it, vocal cords releasing its own guttural cry as it went to war for survival. Agony flares through his being when they collide and wrestled to the floor. The earth around them is seized with violent tremors and his entire universe spins on its axle, unbalanced. He lashes out blindly and claws at the face of the Stalker, feeling a rush of vindictive delight when the abomination of nature rears back and emits a high-pitched whine. It stumbles and claws at its face, shrill cries growing louder as it stumbles back a few feet. The Alpha curls his lip and pounces on the Insane, guttural bellows shaking the entire corridor. The sound of bone cracking fuels his bloodlust and he retracts his jaws, lunging down to tear out the vulnerable throat. Agony lances his sides as the bony protrusions from the Stalker's ribcage penetrates his chest and he _roars_. The wind is knocked out of him when he is pinned to the floor, face to face with the grotesque maw of the Stalker. The protrusions penetrate deeper into his chest and he releases a pained whine. The Stalker emits a high-pitched cackle as it lunges for his throat.

The weight above him suddenly vanishes and a fresh stab of agony fills his chest. He whimpers when the scent of his mate overpowers his senses. Panic claws up his throat when he realizes he can't breath. It feels like his lungs were underwater and he coughs, flinching when a coppery taste fills his throat and dribbles out of his mouth. When he cracks his eyelids open, a blurred mess of colours and movement were all he can see. Sounds around him blended into a sea of incoherent notes, loud and soft at the same time. The ringing in his ear steadily grows in its violent assault of his senses.

Oblivion meets him when he sinks back into its depths again.


End file.
